and pakistan have hit the bottom line. white house chief of staff william daly confirms usa aid to pakistan is being withheld pending better behavior out of islamabad. >> right now they have taken some steps that give us reason to pause on some of the aid we were giving to their mill tashgs and we're trying to work through that. but until we get through these difficulties, we will hold back some of the money that the american taxpayers have committed to giving them. >> some $800 million. >> yes. >> in advance of tonight's debt-reduction meeting at the white house, the obama administration sent out treasury secretary timothy geithner for yet another red alert about what will happen if p congress fails to raise the debt ceiling. >> no responsible leader would say the united states, for the first time in its history, should not pay its bills and meet its obligations. that would be catastrophic for the economy. everybody understands that. >> senate republican leader mitch mcconnell says he's for a big deal as long as it doesn'